Why I really hate using AA

Why I really hate AA, not because it's ineffective or too effective, OP or UP, I could care less about that kind of talk but my #1 biggest reason why I hate using AA is I don't get paid jack s&%$ for sitting around looking at the sky and waiting for something to happen.

In real life people enjoy doing AA duty because #1 their not in direct combat and are least likely to die. And #2 because they get paid to sit around watching the skies. But since this is planetside 2 #1 doesn't apply hear and #2 just discourages people from using it.

"It's either OP or UP" aaah I see, it's OP when you get shot down by it, but UP when you're using it? right? lmfao

AA is fine, go into a teamfight next time.

That's funny. I love doing AA work because of the reasons you say don't apply. For #1, I enjoy the more laid back kind of support work that still involves some engagement from time to time; and, for #2, I find enough work to do as AA that it's very profitable.

I disagree, my decimator is extremely fun. I always get a warm fuzzy feeling inside whenever I hit one of those bad libs.

So, like, five times.

Most Units/Weapons/Classes that attract people in this game are either (1) good at doing something that is needed all over and all the time, or (2) good at doing a number of different things, such that between them all you'll be needed all over and all the time.

If AA is lacking on its own, best bet is to make sure AA Units/Weapons are *ALSO* good at something else very practical. So make sure that all AA HA Launchers are good at either AV or AI or vs. enough different niche units within those groups (like Maxs within Infantry, or like Harassers within Vehicles). Make sure Skyguards are good at AV or AI or vs. enough different niche units. Etc. Or give Skyguards a unique non-combat Cert slot ability (like Scout Radar, or maybe Air Radar for all enemy units in the Air within a hex radius, etc.)

ANY Unit/Weapon in the game can be made more playable (and fun to play) by expanding (1) where and (2) how often it can use used. And any Unit/Weapon can be made less playable (and fun to play) by decreasing the where and how.

Often, increasing or decreasing the survivability (either in general or vs. niche units) can also affect how fun and played a Unit is. And increasing XP or giving damage XP can also work to affect how fun and playable a Unit is.

Did you know that back in the day, you never got a tick of XP for doing enough damage? You only got the partial XP if they died or if you got the kill and that was it. Now you get an CP tick AND ribbons.

You want to get a lot of AA points? Get a team and go camp a mountain near the other faction's warpgate. It's fun, but if you want to farm massive certs, being entirely AA is a bad route.

As AA: You're a key player in a big battle, but it's a poor choice for a selfish player. Stick to medic or engineer if you want points.
PRO TIP: 1 Skyguard is merely a deterrent. 2 Skyguards will ensure no ESF and few liberators will pass over without death. 3 Skyguards makes it a solid kill-zone even for galaxies. You will annihilate all air within 300 meters.

That's not what I meant, I could care less about that. My point is that I don't get paid to do AA especially when it is boring to do, I mean dedicated AA not some dumb fire MLG no scope I shot at an ESF.

I have little experience with the AA rocket style weapons used by HA's. But, from personal experience using flak type weapons more often than not, I will not single handedly kill anything. Only in teams do flak canons seem to be able to kill anything. Seems to be working as intended though.

I find that flak cannons on max's, skyguards, or turrets act as an area denial and deterrence weapon more than an xp farming device. That has value in teamplay more than SoloSide.

I know AA, I have all G2A options unlocked except the MBT and Harraser ones. My outfit does AA nest outside of warp gate [Carl, where is Carl?] You'll understand that if you know what that phrase means.

My point is that dedicated AA is not fun because it doesn't reward you, you can call me selfish but why can't I be rewarded for doing the team a service especially when this is a TEAM game.

So why can't I be rewarded for doing a team job, I mean after all this is a TEAM game so why doesn't helping your TEAM reward you as much as solo.

I don't mean to change the subject but, if you don't like doing AA, don't do AA. Leave it to someone who wants to do it, or is better at it, pull an Engineer, and support that person.

You get an F in reading comprehension. Try again.


@ Topic: I kinda agree with the OP. AA duty is boring unless the enemy constantly tries to assault the area you are at with air. sadly there are always lulls in the action. Don'T know how the devs could go about fixing it. They already did the obvious thing of adding XP to damaging aircraft and ribbons for it too.

The problem is that dedicated AA has to be a proactive tool, not a reactive tool that you pull out when you see enemy air. Then you have what you said about AA being specialized, and to top it off earning EXP as AA is very poor compared to other options.

So now you have a proactive weapon that is dedicated to one thing that you must have prepared before hand if you want any chance of killing air that might not even show up at all, and the reward for you keeping your team safe from enemy air is only a fraction of what you can earn doing anything else. I mean is it so hard to reward you to do a team job for the team in a team game.

That still doesn't solve the problem because you assume there's someone else that is willing to do the job, it's just completely avoiding the problem.

Roll a twin Burster Max then swap weapons when the battle turns AI or AV. Or, go casual by rolling HA and pulling out launcher. Be even more proactive by chasing other ESFs by pulling an A2A ESF yourself.

Otherwise, the biggest issue is not being able to swap out the Skyguard to another Lightning turret when the battle moves on.

They added more ribbons for AA duty but that's still not enough especially when they want to promote this as a team game because you get shafted in doing a team job.

For perspective here's roughly my cert earnings [unboosted] for different play styles. [ yes I do keep track of it so I can maximize proficiency].

Infantry combat. ~70 certs per hour.
Vehicle AI combat. ~90 certs per hour.
Vehicle AV combat. ~120 certs per hour.
General aircraft game play ~100 certs per hour.
Dedicated AA combat. ~50 certs per hour.

This is pretty much not getting rewarded for doing a team job in a team game for the team while I can go solo or partner up and earn far more certs, it's almost like they want to discourage AA and contributing to the team.

The problem is you. Just because you don't like doing the job doesn't mean there isn't anyone else who does. Every playstyle doesn't have to suit everyone's taste. In my case, in the case of vanilla Infantry roles, I can't stand sniping. With time, I could probably get the discipline down; but, based on what I have tried of it, I just can't enjoy the mindset and there's not enough needs-to-get-done busy work for my tastes. I'll also never want to fly as anything more than a support gunner or passenger. That's me though, and not someone else who might love sniping, either for the reasons I don't or for completely different reasons.

You're not the only person on the battlefield. Actually trust your allies, or at least remind your PL that certain roles need people working on them if you think coverage is getting skimpy.

I want prenerf bursters back.
Remember? When they were actually usable beyond 500m?
Then I'll max my MAX Lockdown a- er
You heard nothing.

While it might not be the most cert producing activity, I find the sound of the Ranger the most satisfying.